I'll Be Right Here With You
by L'Ange de Musique
Summary: Finally updated after such a long time. Nothing but Class-A Draco/Hermione fluff. *Chapter five is now up!* Please R&R, thankies! ^_^
1. Unwanted Emotions

1 Chapter One: Unwanted Emotions  
  
Snowflakes fell freely and carelessly on the new but aging hardwood windowpane of the Slytherin common room. Christmas was fast approaching, and it was the season for the most delicious meals, the welcome warmth of cheerful, crackling fireplaces, and the fresh white powder providing a picturesque appeal to the Hogwarts grounds outside.  
  
And maybe, if you went back in time a little and farther from the big old castle, you might encounter an unexpected scene from the past. If you stepped out on the snow of the frosty background, there you would see a little boy no older than four or five, staring out at those lacelike snowflakes with huge, excited gray-blue eyes from a huge manor with many mahogany windows to look through. He'd point enthusiastically at them, and watch intently as the white things turned the enormous garden into a winter wonderland.  
  
The happy little boy would then call for his beloved father. "Daddy! It's snowing outside! Come and play with me!" Yeah, maybe he and his dad could go outside into the garden and play around a bit. They'd probably build a jolly old snowman wearing a crisp orange carrot, fresh from the rich family's greenhouse, and dressed in the boy's dark blue scarf and the grown man's old hat. They'd have a snowball fight with the silver-gray frost, make snow angels on the soft, mushy base, and maybe feed the ducks sitting on the icy but liquid water in the big pond. And then the man would lift his son in the nippy winter air and onto his strong shoulders to walk around the village, greeting the residents and passers-by a 'good morning' and 'very Merry Christmas.' Maybe they'd-  
  
"Daddy? Daddy, where are you?"  
  
There was no answer anywhere in the manor. The man was gone. He was away like always. Lately he'd been disappearing away from his son, and where the man went, the boy never knew. It gave the solid impression that the father didn't love the boy anymore, and sad to say, it was a very accurate impression. The man had now permanently disappeared from the boy. He was now a cruel, troubled person. And all that the little boy could do was curl up in a cold-leathered armchair and sob his heart out. Because no one loved him, and from that day, he loved no one.  
  
That was all Draco Malfoy could do to bear all this unwanted emotion-curl up in a common room armchair and cry. Every Christmas, he'd sit by the fire, all alone, his ice-colored eyes wet with sorrow, and then a hot tear would fall onto his pale cheek, just like how the snow fell on the windowpane of the isolated common room. And he'd sit there, crying silently. Because he was alone. Unloved, and unwilling to love.  
  
But he could feel it-was someone experiencing the same unwanted emotion he was feeling right now? 


	2. A Haunting Memory

1 Chapter Two: A Haunting Memory  
  
"The winter wind howls and threatens to take you,  
  
But I will stay at your side and willingly protect you,  
  
Though the dark, cold shadow covers your cradle,  
  
1.1 I will keep singing this lullaby to you…"  
  
The little girl kept on walking in the freezing blizzard. For now, she did not know where she was, or even who she was. She just kept on walking on the wild, unwelcome snow. Lost, isolated, and with only a memory of a sweet nighttime lullaby that was probably sung to her around wintertime when she was younger. All she could do was walk and keep on singing.  
  
"The forest bear may want to claw you,  
  
But I will keep you away from harm,  
  
The snow may fiercely wind around you,  
  
But I shall keep you safe and warm…"  
  
Although she did not remember, the little girl had been left there on the small snowy peak three days ago. She had been living in a poor orphanage that was out of money, and the conditions were even worse during winter. There at the orphanage, she had been starved, beaten and overworked. She could not remember who had sung her that lullaby three years ago, but what she knew, that person had given her a present of love. She did not know her own name, but a locket with the letter 'H' engraved on it hung from her neck.  
  
Hmmm…la la la la la…remember how much I loved you when I sang your favorite winter lullaby to you…  
  
The little girl suddenly blacked out near a bridge of snow leading to a small village. She remembered nothing.  
  
A young hunter named Ernest Granger found the girl's body in the deep frost bowl a day later. He carried her in his arms to the warm village just a mile ahead.  
  
= = = = =  
  
"Hermione!"  
  
A frightened sob echoed through the Gryffindor common room. Little Marcus Granger may have been twelve at that time, but he loved his older sister dearly and still had the childish fear of the dark. Hermione went downstairs from her dorm to find Marcus shaking like crazy at the foot of the stairs going to the boys' dormitory.  
  
"Hermione…I'm really scared this time!"  
  
"I know, Marc…" Hermione ran a gentle hand through her little brother's bushy blond hair. It soothed him.  
  
"Can I sleep with you tonight?"  
  
"Marcus, there's such a thing as sex discrimination here at Hogwarts, you know. Tell you what, since it's Christmas, Seamus, Dean and Neville are away for the holidays, you can go sleep in an extra bed with Harry and Ron. Tell them you were scared again, OK?"  
  
Marcus' eyes still held a hint of fear.  
  
"Will you sing me a lullaby before I go to sleep?"  
  
"Oh, alright…" And Hermione sang the lullaby that her heart remembered from eleven years ago. 


	3. Merry Christmas, Draco!

Chapter Three: Merry Christmas, Draco!  
  
It was half past three in the afternoon before Draco realized that he was actually hungry for some Christmas tea. He was a sixteen-year-old after all, and he really used to look forward to those cameo cookies and pudding- yeah, like thirteen years ago. But something was compelling him to go downstairs and tuck into those snacks waiting for just him at the Slytherin table. Finally realizing that he'd sat by the common room fireplace for too long a merry Christmas, he arose from the soft, green-leathered armchair and left for the Great Hall.  
  
"Draco!"  
  
Short arms grasped him around the waist. Choking at the pressure the bear hug was giving, he turned around and barely saw the little face that was beaming up at him about a foot or two below his height. He laughed and smiled back.  
  
"Hey Mackenzie, what's up?"  
  
"Don't you know, booger-head? It's Christmas!"  
  
Little Mackenzie Blake was a Hufflepuff second year that Draco had developed a special bond with since some Slytherin bullies tried to beat her up last year. He had come to the rescue not because he favored her, but because his stupid roommates had been bothering him really badly about a made-up affair with him and Pansy. She seemed to like the teasing, but Draco certainly did not. He got back at them, which made about half the house, including his cronies Crabbe and Goyle, hate him. But he still had Mackenzie. She came from a poor family with really cruel parents, so she sought comfort in Draco. Pretty soon, they became like big brother and little sister or best friends, and that was the only bond the two ever had.  
  
Draco grinned brightly at Mackenzie and withdrew a small brown envelope from his sweater's stomach pocket. "Of course I know it's Christmas! How could I forget? And you take back the booger-head crack if you want this!" And with that, he ruffled her jet-black hair, messing up her long pigtails. She laughed happily, and Draco just had to join in.  
  
"C'mon, let's go eat something! I'll open your present downstairs! Besides, I have a present for you there, too!" Draco lifted both his eyebrows in surprise. Since Mackenzie's family was extremely poor, they both knew very well that she never could afford any Christmas gifts to give. But from the look in her eyes, he could tell that it was something really special. For once, Draco felt guilty about the fact that he was rolling in so much wizard gold.  
  
"Here," he said, shoving the envelope into her hands and grabbing a cameo cookie and coffee mug at the same time. "Open it. It may just be an envelope, but it's really special." Mackenzie tore at the envelope with eagerness and gasped excitedly as she read the contents. "A gift certificate of ten galleons to the Budgerigar Pet Shop! This means I can choose any pet I want?" She hugged Draco so tightly that he choked out what remained of his cookie and some of his coffee. "Thank you! Thank you very much!"  
  
"I recommend you to get Foxfeathers. You know, that little fox tail patterned owl that sits on the sign pointing to Hogsmeade Avenue all the time?" She nodded with huge eyes. "I'll go get him on our next Hogsmeade trip."  
  
She hugged the envelope shreds threateningly tightly.  
  
"But I have a gift for you too, Draco. Wait here."  
  
Mackenzie scurried off to the Hufflepuff Hall, leaving Draco with a little more time to finish off all the cameo cookies in the House table (which really didn't take too long since there was only one plate of them) and get started on those lemon-pecan logs that were calling his name before she arrived to snatch all those Christmas sweets away and give him his gift-a tiny little box with holes poked on the surface. There was a moment of silence as Draco carefully examined the box, expecting something humble but worth his time, and before Mackenzie finally pushed it into his arms and nodded at him, urging him to open it.  
  
He stared into the box with his intent ice-colored eyes. A pair of beautiful little sapphire-blue eyes brilliantly stared back at him, and then shut out their light. Puzzled, Draco lifted the 'thing' up. It appeared to be a small fur ball, with a thick, stripy tail protruding out of the soft gray hair. He stroked it, and those blue, blue eyes finally looked at him again, this time seemingly welcoming. The shape then straightened and it became clearer to Draco that he held in his hand a tiny gray black-striped kitten. Even for him, it was extremely cute and very nice to hold.  
  
Mackenzie was delightful at Draco's reaction.  
  
"Her name's Sapphire because of her blue eyes. You know, I think you and Sapphire have the same blue eyes."  
  
Taken aback, Draco smiled at the kitty. It seemed to smile back, and let out a high-pitched squeaky meow.  
  
"Thanks, Mackenzie. She's really pretty."  
  
"I'm glad you like her."  
  
And with that, Draco left for the common room, full of Christmas cookies, Sapphire poking her tufty head out of his stomach pocket. 


	4. Hermione's Lost and Found

Chapter Four: Hermione's Lost and Found   
  
"Merry Christmas, everybody! All right there, Marc?"  
  
Harry and Ron smiled back and waved as a greeting to Hermione. Marcus, however, was curled up in Seamus' bed wearing all the covers around his small body, two chocolate eyes peering through the Ireland vs. Bulgaria with Viktor Krum after the Snitch and Aidan Lynch on his tail.  
  
"Oh, about little Marcus?" said Harry, his good-natured bright green eyes gleaming with laughter. "He got a very bad encounter with a monster last night, and he's still scared."  
  
It was true. Little Marcus' eyes became fainter under the 1994 Quidditch World Cup quilt, and finally shut in shame.  
  
"A big, yellow-eyed, furry orange striped monster cat!"  
  
"Just look at its fangs! Sprayed you with poison spit, it did!" Laughter rang around the dormitory. Marcus twitched uncomfortably and pulled the quilt so close to him that his bushy blond hair disappeared under it, and Crookshanks, under Ron's bed, threw his tail up in dismay and made movements of resentment toward the joke. Apparently, Marcus and Crookshanks had scared each other stiff last night.  
  
"Honestly, Marc, I think you've been hanging out with Neville way too much! Not that the family needs a Squib!"  
  
Marcus looked a little hurt. His eyes started to get watery.  
  
"Oh, good grief, Marcus, it's just a joke." Hermione went over to the bed and hugged her little brother. The quilt came looser. At least you could see the Snitch on it now.  
  
"Crookshanks scratched my face. It hurt."  
  
Claw marks stretched across his face, and they looked like they bled a little last night. She couldn't really blame him.  
  
"Get over it Marcus, Harry and I have gotten worse injuries than the horrible paw marks of our evil monster cat here." Ron gently pulled Crookshanks from under his bed and stroked him. Crookshanks purred peacefully and ran his bushy tail along Ron's chin, tickling it and making him laugh. Amazingly, Ron and Crookshanks got along with each other very well now.  
  
"It seems like you gave him quite a fright last night. Look at his tail-lost a few good hairs because of you, same with your scratches. For all we know, Marcus, maybe Crookshanks wanted to wake you up early and wish you a Merry Christmas with a lick, not claws, in the face." He suddenly sent the cat flying in the air towards Seamus' bed. The two flinched.  
  
"Now, you two kiss and make up. You know what I mean."  
  
And a truce was declared with a petting and tail cuffing.  
  
Hermione decided to go upstairs early. She's had her fill of her favorite cameo cookies and pecan-lemon logs, and besides, Harry, Ron and Marcus were downstairs horsing around with the Blake twins Tyler and Garfield from Ravenclaw. The idea of plopping down in an armchair beside the fireplace with a book sounded relaxing. But then she remembered that she wanted a new book to read, so she turned and steered in the direction of the library instead. Ron had gotten a CD player from Harry for Christmas. Trouble was that he didn't know how to work it, and he didn't have a CD to listen to. The Blake twins, who became close to the Weasley twins and the latter after the flunking of grades and the enmity of students last year, had stopped by Gryffindor table and lent Ron a CD they happened to be holding. They had taken turns listening to the player, and now Hermione had one of the songs played stuck in her head.  
  
"My biggest fear will be the rescue of me," she sang.  
  
"Strange how it turns out that way..." Hermione kind of had a good singing voice if she kept it soft and to herself.  
  
"Would you show me dear? Something I've not seen? Something infinitely interesting..."  
  
A soft mewling interrupted the song. Like that of a really tiny kitten with a really soft voice. But since Hermione was singing in the softest voice herself, she heard it and looked down to find a gray, black-striped kitten with sapphire-blue eyes.  
  
"Hello down there. To whom do you belong to?"  
  
Innocent blue, blue eyes stared back at Hermione. Seemingly afraid, the eyes closed and the kitten curled itself up into a ball on the floor, sticking out its tiny, furry tail.  
  
"Oh, come here. Don't be afraid now. I won't hurt you."  
  
"Sapphire! Kitty, where are you? Sapphire!"  
  
A familiar voice echoed through the library corridor. If the voice was familiar to the kitten, it sensed it, and its eyes opened little by little, but it didn't uncurl itself.  
  
"Sapphire-"  
  
It was Draco Malfoy who went up to the corridor and scooped the kitten up from the floor. As he stood up, his eyes met Hermione's in a straight, steely gaze.  
  
"Oh...hello Granger."  
  
Hermione suddenly felt the anger and hate that all Malfoy had caused her before. She flamed then and there.  
  
"What, you don't add `Mudblood' to that anymore because you have another brilliant line to use with me?"  
  
The anger and hate retaliated to her.  
  
"Wow, so now you miss my foul mouth so much that you actually want to be called `Mudblood'? Use your own brain, Granger, for all your smarts you have to depend on my dumbhead for brilliant, catchy lines!"  
  
He tucked the kitten into his stomach pocket.  
  
"My brain is perpetually dead, Granger. I only came down here to look for my cat, and not to pick another fight with you. You know I'm sick of that, don't you?"  
  
"Yeah, well so am I."  
  
"Then remember that you're the one who started it this time." Malfoy just smiled, a sarcastic one, but still a smile.  
  
Hermione hung her head, angry at her defeat.  
  
"Well, Granger, I hate parting with you, but Sapphire and I have business to attend to."  
  
A soft mewling escaped his stomach pocket. Little Sapphire poked its head out of the pocket and stared at Hermione.  
  
"Oh yeah, Granger..." his eyes looked back at her, dazzling gray-blue. Like the kitten's.  
  
"If you're the one who found Sapphire, she says thank you, and so do I." This time he smiled, a sincere one, and his ice-colored eyes gleamed with gratefulness. Hermione felt awkward-she'd never seen him like that.  
  
"Uh-you're welcome, Malfoy."  
  
"It's Draco. Is it OK if you call me that from now on?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. If you call me Hermione instead of Granger."  
  
"Alright. Let's go, Sapphire." He looked back. "You're not so bad after all, Hermione."  
  
"And you too, er, Draco."  
  
Satisfied, he traipsed down to the Slytherin dungeon.  
  
"Oh yeah, and Hermione," he called back.  
  
"We think that you should try keep up your singing voice." 


	5. Chapter Five: Hello Again

A/N: Hi again! *waves* Sorry for the extremely long wait! I've just been busy with some other stuff, but no doubt I'm still a Harry Potter fan and a DM/HG one at that! Well, here's chapter five of my long-anticipated story. Cheers, and enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Five: Hello Again  
  
"BRRRRIIIIIINNNNNGGG!" "Freaking shit!" A hand felt through the small bedside cabinet and groped around for the alarm clock, and finally finding it, shoved it off the table and made it fly to the floor in pieces, batteries and all. Draco rose from the bed, his silvery-blue eyes sleepy and annoyed and his platinum-blond hair tousled. How he resented the Ministry's agreement to allow battery-operated objects in Hogwarts, what with all the magic floating around in the air. The stupid things did nothing but trouble, and now that idiot Crabbe set his alarm way too loud, and it wasn't even supposed to be on since its master had gone home for the holiday. Merlin's beard, that bastard and his clock were annoying him to hell. Oh well, he thought to himself. Might as well get this day over with. He looked out the window, and for some strange reason, grinned. Not so bad for the first day after Christmas, he thought to himself. The grounds were still powdery-white with snow, but some of it had cleared, revealing the cheerful green of the bushes and the blood red color of the Winter's Blossom. Maybe he would go outside and fly around a little. Still a little drowsy, he popped out of his four-poster in his rich black silk robes, covering them, picked out a white T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans he had picked up at a Muggle sale out of sheer boredom last year, and went upstairs to the prefect's bathroom.  
  
That was when he started thinking. About Granger-wait a minute, no, cancel that-Hermione. That was a weird conversation they had had yesterday. I mean, not that often that a pure-blood actually compliments a Mudblood-er, Muggle-born (what did I just think?)-about her singing voice or thanks her for finding a little lost kitten. The though of it was just really weird. But he couldn't help thinking that Granger wasn't so bad, after all. He'd even said it to her face. And Draco Malfoy would never do that-would he?  
  
Oh, never mind. He might as well just say hello to her when they passed in the corridors, perhaps nothing more. He stepped out the shower and wrapped a towel around himself and walked over to a mirror stall to dress himself up.  
  
There was another thing that surprised him. He was smiling. Non, not a sarcastic smile like the ones he always gave for free or the sick smile of a third year who'd just drank a little too much eggnog on Christmas morning. It was a real one, and because of it, he was actually feeling- cheerful. Only one thing popped into his mind as he pulled on his jeans, shirt and combed back his hair-Draco Malfoy, you sure are weird.  
  
As soon as he was finished with his morning grooming, he pulled on a pair of shoes and walked back to the Slytherin sixth year dorms, where he figured the little kitten he had gotten yesterday, Sapphire, was just about awake from her peaceful slumber among his robes in his trunk.  
  
He was right. Prowling around the cleaned-out dormitory amidst five empty four-poster beds was a tiny ball of gray and black with blue eyes, looking for its handsome master. IT was hard for Draco to imagine himself picking up the kitten and staring at it, but that was exactly what he did. Sapphire stared back, and mewed in a voice as soft as a whisper. "OK," he said uneasily. In his mind, he thought, what the hell am I doing with an adorable little kitten in my hands? Sounds like something some six- year-old girl in a pink dress would do. Why do I have a kitten again? Oh yeah. Mackenzie. "Um.good morning, Sapphire." "Mew," Sapphire responded, with milk-curdling cuteness. "Uh.I've got to go outside and attend to a couple of things, alright?" "Meow." "O-K. So I'm going to leave you here for a few minutes while I eat breakfast and get some for you. Agreed?" "Meow." "Right. But after that, you're going to have to stay here and wait for me until I come back, OK?" "Meow (hey)!" Draco sighed. Sapphire was staring at him again, blue eyes all watery like a kid about to cry. For some strange reason besides the fact that she'd meow to hell until he came running back, he didn't like the idea of leaving her alone, but then again, Draco Malfoy carrying a kitty all around the school? "Relax, kitty! The House-Elves will take care of you-I hope. Besides, it's a holiday, how long do you expect me to be out?" Silence. "Hey, you should know that I don't go to parties anymore!" "Mew (but still!)." "Well, I'm going to go eat breakfast anyway," he told her. "I'll be back in a while with some kippers for you." The kitty scowled (well, sort of), but nonetheless stayed on the pile of clothes Draco set her on. One last dig into his trunk and he pulled out a black Hogwarts robe, and pinned a sleek silver prefect badge onto it. Then, very quietly, he left the room, and made his way out of the Slytherin dungeons.  
  
Breakfast wasn't a huge ordeal. Since he was early and it was still vacation, after all, he managed to get some good time alone to himself at the House table. The porridge and treacle were good, as usual. After helping himself to a glass of pumpkin juice, he scooped up a kipper and a piece of toast into a napkin, not too pleased about their smell, and went back down to his House dorms to deliver the fish and toast to Sapphire. He hoped the House-Elves would get rid of the smell.  
  
Once he got up from the dungeons again, he decided to go to the library. Well, he needed to do some studying anyway, and although no one knew it, he loved to read. He hated Muggle television, as he thought it was for brain- dead losers, but reading was another thing. Whenever he got back home to the Malfoy Manor, he never talked to anyone, and always shut himself in the family's library, feeding himself with the thick history volumes and thin statistical folders.  
  
On his way up the stairs, however, whom should he meet but Hermione Granger, carrying an armload of books, papers, and books. He gave a small smile, knowing that she would've wanted to pack the whole library into her Gryffindor dorm. She didn't really notice him, or else he figured she would ignore him, as she wouldn't really know what else to do after yesterday. But suddenly, her foot gave way on the fifth step. Draco winced as a scream echoed very loudly in his ears, but instinctively held out his arms, shutting his eyes. Books tumbled down the steps and scattered onto the floor below, pages torn, but he didn't catch one. As for Hermione.Draco looked around concernedly, looking for her, when he faced front, he found himself staring into hazel eyes, looking just as surprised as he was. Instead of any of the books, he found himself with another fairly light load in his arms. He blushed furiously, and so did Hermione. "Whoa," he muttered. "Easy there, Granger." "Um." Hermione's cheeks turned from flamingo pink to cherry red at this remark. "Uh, Draco.OK if you put me down now?" "Oh!" Draco almost dropped her like a sack of beans. "Right! Really sorry about that." He gently put her down and traveled down the steps to retrieve her books, wishing he could just shoot himself-well, if he could work one of those bang-thingies those Muggles used to kill each other. "Oh, no, that's all right, I'll pick them up," said Hermione, following him down. "You don't have to do that-( Nevertheless, being the heartless gentleman he was, Draco picked up half the books lying around on the red carpet and handed them to Hermione. He didn't really feel like looking at her, right now, and as she took the books away, neither did she. "Oh, um.do you need any help with those?" "Er, no thanks, I think I can manage on my own.but thanks anyway, OK?" "Hey, no problem." Draco gave her an easy sort of grin. "And, um, thanks for catching me on the steps." Before Draco could say 'you're welcome', he suddenly felt Hermione peck his cheek. That made him turn from pale pink to the reddest shade he had ever blushed too. Hermione, too, drew back, bright crimson, and from the look on her face, she had absolutely no idea why she had just done that. "'Cha do that for?" Draco mumbled, shocked. "I-I'm sorry.I don't know what's wrong with me." Hermione hid her head, and it looked like she was going to cry. Circe's pigs, he'd never seen her do something so strange since the time in third year when she had slapped the hell out of him. "I'm really sorry, Malfoy, it's just that whenever Harry or Ron helps me like that, I-( "Yeah, I get it," said Draco, feeling his ears going a little red and getting the slightest bit annoyed. Who was she to compare him with some other Gryffindor shit? "But hell, don't get any ideas that I'm as special as your precious Potter and Weasley, 'cause in the little world I live in, kisses on the cheek like that don't exist." She couldn't find anything to say to such a cold remark. The silence hit Draco and gave him the impact of what he had said, and to have said that in front of Granger-no, Hermione-was just really bad. "God, Granger, I'm really sorry for that. I don't know where that came from." Hermione was still very quiet before answering, "Oh. That's OK." "No, seriously, I didn't feel sarcastic at all today," he insisted. "Listen," she said softly. "I think it's best if we part ways now. I got some stuff to do, and you probably have something to study at the library." She said this in a sincere tone, not snotty or boastful. "Is it all right if I leave you now?" Draco swallowed. "Yeah. Sure. You probably do have a lot to be done, and yeah, I was just heading for the library." He jammed his thumb in its direction. "Well.goodbye, then." "Goodbye, Malfoy." "Hermione." She turned around, and saw that Draco was smiling. "My name is Draco." "Oh-alright. Well then, see you. And if I might mention, Muggle clothes don't look so bad on you." Draco stared inside his black robes while Hermione gave a soft, shy giggle and continued down on her way to Gryffindor Tower.  
  
Before she was completely out of sight, however, Draco heard her mutter, "Beautiful day." 


End file.
